Is Ham Radio Accessible For Me

Ever since the beggining people began forming organizations, being lured by amatuer radio technology. One reason people choose ham radio is that you can broadcast up to 1000 watts as compared just 4 watts with CB radio. The channels available for amateur radio are more diverse and less crowded. With the addition of satellite technology no portion of the world is beyond your reach. Of course with all this power comes responsibility, in order to acquire all this you need to pass severl exams..

ham radio offers a variety of licenses for people of every level of interest.

Getting a Novice licence means you can access several HF frequencies and transmit between 28.3 and 28.5 MHz and also between 28.1 and 28.3 for radio teletype. To access these frequencies all you need is a 10 Meter Radio even though these radios are commonly referred to as a 10 Meter CB Radio they are quite differnt as a CB radio does not require a license and a 10 Meter Radio does. FM and SSB transmissions are allowed between 222.01 and 223.91 MHz and 1270 to 1295 MHz.To get the Novice Class you need to be able to interpret Morse code at a rate of 5 wpm and pass a theory test..

Becoming a Technician class broadcaster gratns transmission on the VHF and Ultra High Frequency bands.Achieveing a Technicians license grants access to the VHF and UHF bands.~The Technicians license means that you can now broadcast on the UHF and VHF frequencies. To receive the Technicians license all you need to do is pass a test about FCC rules and complete a radio theory exam.

After that the next license, the General radio amateurs license, allows the UHF band. To receive this license you have to capable of work Morse code at the rate of 13 wpm and pass an exam on general radio theory plus FCC regulations.

The Advanced radio license grants access to more frequencies in the HF band, but to get this you need to have passed the General class Morse Code and radio theory tests and a more difficult radio theory exam.

In the US the top ham radio license you can obtain is the Extra Class.. Extra class license holders are allowed access to the complete spectrum of HF VHF and UHF frequencies allowed to amatuer radio. To get this license you must already finished the previos licencing exams and complete a new, more complicated theory and morse code test..

If you need help completing your exams you can contact the American Radio Relay League. They are a non profit organization that helps new amatuer radio operators.

If you dont enjoy the inconvenience and time it takes to complete all those examinations try CB radio. Unlike ham radio there is no license requirement for cb radio. The jargon used is relaxed and there’s no need to learn Morse Code. Buy a radio and an antenna and your ready to go. Sound interesting?